Swimming appliance and life-preserver.



C. GARRISON. SWIMMING APPLIANCE AND LIFE PRESERVER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27, 1915. 1,164,180.

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

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CHARLES GARRISON, 0F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN LIFE SAVING GARMENT COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

SWIMMING APPLIANCE AND LIFE-PRESERVER.

Application filed March 27, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES GAmnsoN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swimming Appliances and Life-Preservers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to appliances attachable to the human body for the purpose of supporting the body in water with the head above the surface.

The invention has for its'object to provide an appliance for this purpose adapted to be used as a life preserver by a person not swimming, and as an aid to a swimmer permitting the free movements of the body and arms required in swimming, the wearer be ing safely supported whether swimming or not, and being able to swim freely without obstruction by the appliance.

The invention is embodied in an appliance comprising a flexible band adapted to extend across and conform to the curvature of the wearers chest, said band being either of buoyant construction, or not, as may be preferred, means for securing the band to the wearers body below the arms, and buoyant wings flexibly connected or hinged to the band and adapted to swing backward and forward below the wearers arms, so that said wings may project backward from the sides of the body when the wearer is swimming forward or floating in an upright position, or may project forward and upward from the sides of the body when the wearer is swimming or floating on his back.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification: Figure 1 represents a side View showing the inner side of an appliance embodying my invention; Fig. 2

represents a perspective view showing theappliance secured to a wearer; Fig. 3 represents an end view showing the relative positions of the band and wings when the wearer is swimming forward; Fig. 4 represents a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the relative positions of the band and wings when the wearer is swimming or floating on his back; Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 represents a modification.

The same reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in all-the views.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nee. 14., 1915.

Serial No. 17,358.

My improved appliance is composed of a flexible band 12 formed to extend across the wearers breast and preferably of such length as to embrace nearly one half of the body, although the length may be varied as mav be desired.

WVith the band 12 are flexibly connected two wings 18, preferably formed as shown by Fig. 1, their upper and lower edges diverging from the upper and lower edges of the band. The band and wings may be of any suitable construction and material, the wings being necessarily buoyant and the band preferably so.

The preferred construction of the band and wings is as follows: Suitably shaped pieces of strong textile fabric are stitched together to form a bag having an elongated tubular central portion constituting the band, and enlarged end portions constituting the wings. In the bag is inserted, before its parts are completely united or closed, a filling 14E of buoyant material, such as the fiber known as kapok, the characteristics of which are such as to render it eminently suitable for this purpose, as fully explained in Letters Patent of the United States to Baswitz, No. 686,883. This filling preferably occupies both the band and the wings, so that each is a buoyant member of the appliance, although if desired the buoyant filling may be omitted from the band. The band is provided with means presently de scribed, whereby it may be secured to the wearers' body in such manner that it has practically no freedom of movement, but is held closely against the body. The wings, however, are flexibly connected with the band, so that they are adapted to swing backward and forward under the wearers arms. This connection is preferably made by connecting the front and back sides of the bag by transverse lines of stitches 15, thus separating the fillings of the wings from the band, and forming hinges which permit the wings to swing backward in the general direction of the wearers back, as shown by Figs. 2 and 3, or forward away from the wearers back as shown by Fig. 4;. The wings assume the position shown by Figs. 2 and 3 when the wearer is either swimming forward or treading water, the wings being out of the way and permitting free strokes of the wearers arms. The

, bag and united thereto by stitches 18 wings assume the position shown by Fig. 4 when the wearer is swimming or floating on his back, their position being such as to effectively support the body without interfering with the use of the arms.

As the preferred means for confining the band to the wearers body, I show a strap or tape 18 attached at its ends to suitable portions of the band and constituting a suspending loop adapted to extend across the wearers shoulders and behind his neck, and two tapes 19 attached to the end portions of the band and adapted to be crossed at the wearers back and be tied together at the front of the body. The ends of the loopforming tape 18 are preferably extended across the inner side of the band-forming A reinforcing tape 19 is preferably stitched to the inner side of the band between the attached ends of the tapes 19, said reinforcing tape being preferably integral with the tapes 19, and secured in part by the hinge-forming stitches 15.

The band-forming portion of the described bag is preferably closed at its central portion, its sides being brought together and united by stitches 22. These stitches and the hinge-forming stitches 15 subdivide the interior of the bag into pockets or compartments confining the filling 14 in separate bodies.

If desired, the buoyancy of the appliance may be secured by air forced into the wings, or into both the wings and band, the bag con struction being air-tight and a suitable inflating valve or valves being provided, as in dicated by Fig. 6. In this modification the wings may be inflatable bags 13 of rubber, or combined rubber and cloth, or any suitable flexible material rendered air tight, flexibly connected at 153 with a band 12 of any suitable material and construction, and either inflatable or not. The wings 13 may be provided with inflating valves 24: and the band 12 if inflatable, may be provided with a similar valve 25.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An'appliance of the character stated, comprising a flexible band adapted to extend across and conform to the curvature of the wearers breast, means for securing said band to the wearers body, against displace.- ment in any direction, and buoyant wings flexibly connected to the end portions of'said band and adapted to swing backward and forward below the wearers arms, the length of the band'being such that the flexible connections between the v ings and band are located at the side of the body below the arms, and the said securing means being organized to confine the band on the breast far enough below the arms to permit the wings to project backward when the wearer is swimming forward, and to project forward when the wearer is swimming backward.

2. An appliance of the character stated, comprising a flexible band adapted to extend across and conform to the curvature of the wearer's breast, a suspending loop attached to the band and adapted to extend acros the shoulders and behind the neck of th wearer, confining tapes attached to the band and adapted to confine said portions against the wearers body, and buoyant wing members flexibly connected to the band and adapted to swing backward and forward below the wearers arms. v

3. An appliance of the character stated comprising a flexible bandadapted to extend across and conform to the curvature of the wearers breast, a suspending loop attached to the band and adapted to extend across the shoulders and behind the neck of the wearer, confining tapes attached to the band and adapted to confine said portions against the wearers body, a reinforcing tape attached to andextending lengthwise of the inner surface of the band between the attached ends of said confining tapes, and buoyant wing members flexibly connected to the band and adapted to swing backward and forward below the wearers arms.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

lVitnesses:

C. F. BRowN, P. WV. PEZZETTI.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents- Washington, D. 0.

CHARLES GARRISON. 7 

